Pick up your copy of The Sunday Star paper tomorrow (Aug 12) for a 25% discount on these cookbooks. Look for the coupon in Star2.

Eggs

Author: Michel RouxPublisher: QuadrillePrice: RM99.90

The egg, says Michel Roux, “is an undervalued food, invariably overshadowed by expensive, luxury ingredients”. In writing this book, he shares his secrets on what has become his “most faithful companions” and offers 130 recipes and ideas for using eggs.

Roux devotes the first six chapters of the book to the mastery of key cooking methods – such as boiling, poaching, and scrambling – and the remaining seven chapters to the egg’s “genius in all forms of cooking”. Here, he instructs readers on the important role of eggs in batters, pastries, sauces, ice creams, sponges and more.

In this new edition (first published in 2005), classic recipes – such as eggs Benedict and boiled eggs with special soldiers – are presented alongside many modern and creative takes on the egg. For example, soft-cooked eggs with vanilla caramel and brioche is made for those with a sweet tooth, while scrambled eggs masala sounds right up our alley.

This is a great book for all its technicalities on preparing eggs, and it can help you take your egg cookery up to pro chef level – but, as with many cookbooks by Michelin-starred chefs, there is that tendency towards some time-consuming recipes using ingredients that are harder to get.

That said, eggs – the most simple and complete food – are easily available, and it’s always good to know as many ways as possible to cook them. – Jane F. Ragavan

Gennaro’s Fast Cook Italian

Author: Gennaro ContaldoPublisher: PavilionPrice: RM124.90

If you’ve ever watched British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver cooking Italian food on television, there’s a 90% chance you’ve also heard him mentioning his mentor, Gennaro Contaldo. The man is so inexorably intertwined with Oliver that when I went to one of Oliver’s popular Jamie’s Italian outlets in London, the first thing I saw on the specials was Gennaro’s pasta!

His connection to the famed celebrity chef aside, Contaldo is a popular Italian chef and cookbook author who has even nabbed a Guinness World Record for the most ravioli made in two minutes.

In this cookbook, Contaldo highlights easy Italian dishes that require little in the way of elaborate preparation. You’ll discover all sorts of delightful Italian recipes like smoked salmon carbonara, quick fish soup, anchovy-infused lamb cutlets, steaks in a herb-infused tomato sauce, and squid with olives.

The recipes are beautifully photographed (although it would have been nice to have more pictures, as many of the recipes do not have accompanying images) and it is evident that the meals are designed with modern, time-strapped people in mind. Ingredients listed are generally minimal and most of the dishes look like they can be prepared by anyone, from beginners to seasoned cooks.

Oh She Glows Every Day

Following the success of her New York Times bestselling The Oh She Glows Cookbook, food blogger Angela Liddon returns with more plant-based treats for her fans.

This new cookbook contains 100 new recipes that are all vegan and predominantly soy-free, gluten-free, grain-free and nut-free. In other words, it caters for every conceivable allergy and dietary restriction imaginable.

In many ways, Liddon herself is the perfect advertisement for a plant-based diet – she looks golden and glowing and just radiates good health, which might be the kick in the butt you need to actually try these recipes. Because while many of them look appealing, it is difficult to shake off the idea that they are but poor copycats of the real deal.

The How Not To Die Cookbook

TO be perfectly honest, I wasn’t all that excited when I first saw this book. After all, who wants to read a cookbook that has the word “die” in the title? But as it turns out, while the title may sound ominous, the book is actually a very sensible approach to extending life spans and reversing diseases.

Written by physician Micheal Greger (the author of the bestselling How Not To Die book), with recipes by vegan cookbook author Robin Robertson, the book does an incredible job of drumming in the importance of a plant-based diet in the introductory pages, with comprehensive information from studies, reports and journals thrown in for good measure. – AD

Pick up your copy of The Sunday Star paper tomorrow (Mar 11) for a 25% discount on these cookbooks. Look for the coupon in Star2.

Drink More Fizz

Author: Jonathan RayPublisher: QuadrillePrice: RM94.90

Jonathan Ray, the drinks editor of British newspaper TheSpectator, was also formerly the wine editor of GQ UK and the Daily Telegraph. Obviously, the man knows his alcohol! This book is a tribute to his lifelong love of Champagne. Ray’s father was an avowed devotee of fizz and introduced his son to it when he was nine! Over the years, Ray has imbibed more than his fair share of Champagne and sparkling wine, and shares his love in this charming catalogue of his 100 favourite fizzes “at the moment”.

Most are from lesser-known producers like the Narrative Ancient Method by Okanagan Crush Pad 2013 from Canada, the Amalia Brut NV from Greece and the No.1 Family Estate Assemble NV from New Zealand. The usual suspects – like Moet, Mumm and Bolinger – are also all here, but Ray has endeavoured to feature each producer only once (with the exception of Moet, which makes two appearances in the book).

Each Champagne or sparkling wine featured includes lots of useful information about how it is made as well as the history behind it. Ray’s personal stories about how he discovered each of these wines also make for interesting reading. The book also includes lots of handy nuggets about terminology, pairing Champagne with food, and recipes for Champagne cocktails! If you haven’t already discovered the charm of Champagne and sparkling wine, this book will make you want to head out and buy some immediately. – Abirami Durai

Posh Pancakes

Author: Sue QuinnPublisher: QuadrillePrice: RM94.90

Once in a blue moon, my youngest sister whips up a batch of pancakes. As she almost never cooks, this event is a hotly-anticipated ticket that necessitates multiple surprised messages in our family group chat. But it is the pancakes themselves that yield delight – warm, fluffy and drenched in pools and pools of thick, sickly sweet maple syrup.

In Posh Pancakes, this warm, fuzzy feeling re-emerges as pancakes are everywhere: from Eastern European blinis to Indian dosas, French crepes and Australian pikelets. Each dish is beautifully photographed, and you’ll find yourself entranced by inventive, delightful recipes like beetroot blinis with smoked mackerel and dill, corn and spinach pancakes with tomato salsa, and sweet potato and ricotta gratinated crepes.

There are so many pancake possibilities in this book that you’ll quickly start imagining weekend after weekend spent concocting all sorts of delicious pancakes for the family. I’m already wondering what to start with this weekend! – AD

So Much To Celebrate

Author: Katie JacobsPublisher: Thomas NelsonPrice: RM149

This family-centric cookbook captures the essence of moments like picnics, ladies luncheons and tea parties, and the food that helps elevate the fun factor at these events.

There is a distinctly feminine swirl running through the book, as author Katie Jacobs (who is a stylist and photographer who has been featured in Martha Stewart Living) frequently references her mother, grandmother and daughter in many of her entries.

There is also a strong emphasis on creating themes and moments, like pie parties and backyard movie nights, to celebrate everything and nothing at all. It’s a glorious idea, this notion of being able to whip up a three-course meal on a random Tuesday night or have your girlfriends over for a chic white-linen lunch.

The recipes are suitably comforting and run the gamut from movie night popcorn to harvest caramel apple chocolate cake to southern skillet cream biscuits. If you’re looking for meals that really amp the celebratory factor, you’ll love this delightful book. – AD

The Marley Coffee Cookbook: One Love, Many Coffees & 100 Recipes

Use coffee to flavour, enhance and enliven food, farmer Rohan Marley tells us in his book. From personal experience, I have found that to be true, but until I looked through The Marley Coffee Cookbook, I never imagined it as an accent in so many savoury dishes and desserts.

Marley and chef Maxcell Hardy III put coffee in marinades, dressings and rubs, as well as syrups and even use it as a seasoning, just like salt or pepper, in their cooking.

While the recipes use Marley Coffee’s own range, Marley also describes the aroma, notes and acidity of the beans so we can substitute them with coffees with similar flavours from other brands.

Each chapter is dedicated to recipes using one of the brand’s coffees, which are named after the songs of Marley’s legendary musician father Bob – fans will no doubt recognise One Love, Buffalo Soldier and Get Up, Stand Up. Many of the recipes are Caribbean-inspired – you’ll find breakfasts, vegetarian, grilled food, beverages, soups, meat, salads and sweets as well as Marley family favourites such as Brown Stew Chicken and Coffee-Infused Pepper Shrimp.

I know the Grilled Honey-Glazed Chicken will be on my family table on Easter Sunday next month. – Jane F. Ragavan